


Clap Your Hands, Y'all

by lookninjas



Category: Glee
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-23
Updated: 2014-07-23
Packaged: 2018-02-10 01:10:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2005218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lookninjas/pseuds/lookninjas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mike has a spare toothbrush waiting for each of the New Directions kids, just in case.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Clap Your Hands, Y'all

**Author's Note:**

> So over on tumblr, rainbowrites posted the fantastic [I Wanna Dance With Somebody (who loves me)](http://rainbowrites.tumblr.com/post/22094948003/i-wanna-dance-with-somebody-who-loves-me), a spectacular reaction fic to Glee 3.17 featuring some truly epic Bike Chanderson friendship (and also all of the feelings), and if you haven't read that, you should, because it is awesome. But anyway. In that fic, there is a line about how Blaine has his own toothbrush at Mike's house, and that, in fact, Mike keeps toothbrushes for all of the glee kids, just in case. 
> 
> Please note that this fic was written before the end of Season Three, and therefore the ending has been jossed to hell and back. I'm still a little sad about that.
> 
> Also, this fic contains mentions of Karofsky's suicide attempt, so please read carefully.

1\. Puck

 

He doesn't realize that there's a problem until he's standing in the bathroom and he realizes that Puck doesn't have a toothbrush.

Matt has a toothbrush, of course. Matt has always had a toothbrush in Mike's bathroom, and Mike has always had a toothbrush in Matt's, with their names written on the handle in black magic marker. It's just easier this way, since they're always at each other's houses. But Puck doesn't come over to Mike's house. Puck goes to Finn's. Or, at least, he goes to Finn's when he's not going to Finn's girlfriend's.

And that's why Puck is at Mike's house tonight.

The thing is, Mike kind of feels bad for him. He's not totally sure why. Puck's an asshole at least eighty percent of the time, and it's not like getting Quinn pregnant is exactly a step in the right direction, and there's basically about a billion reasons why Mike should not have Puck over at his house at all, let alone be worrying about how he's going to brush his teeth. He shouldn't care. He knows he shouldn't.

Just... He just does.

He sighs and heads back into his bedroom; Puck is laying on the floor with his head on Matt's lap, while Matt just stares at him like he doesn't totally understand how either of them wound up in this position. "I'm going to the store," Mike says, and Matt's eyes widen; he's shaking his head before Mike's even done talking. "I'll be right back. Just keep an eye on him, okay?"

"No," Matt says, still shaking his head. "No, dude. No. You can't just -- Seriously, it's practically a million years since curfew now. What if your parents wake up? What if they find..." He looks down at Puck, who sort of rolls over and pushes his head against Matt's stomach and wraps his arms around Matt's waist and Mike's not totally sure, but he swears to God that Puck is actually purring. "We could be in serious trouble here, Mike," Matt hisses, leaning forward a little bit with one hand on Puck's back, like he's actually trying to keep him in place. "Do not make this any worse for us."

"Look, there's a Circle K like two blocks from here," Mike says, as Puck snuggles even deeper into Matt's lap. "I'll just go, grab him a toothbrush, and I'll be right back. Ten minutes, tops."

Matt's eyes go even wider. "You're getting him a --" His voice is way too loud, and Mike gestures frantically at him to just _keep it the fuck down, Matt_. "A toothbrush?" Matt asks, quieter this time. "Are you for -- No. No. He can use mine. I don't care. I mean, I'll have to bleach it, but you are not waking up your parents just so you can get Puckerman a freaking toothbrush, Mike, seriously. No. _No_."

Puck sits up a little bit, focusing red-rimmed eyes on Mike. Mike's still not sure if Puck's been drinking or what, but he knows there's been some crying. He knows there's been crying because he was there for the crying, and that's probably why Puck's at his house now. Because Puck was crying, and Mike can't not care about that. "You know what you should get?" Puck asks, swaying slightly -- Matt has to catch him by the shoulders to steady him. "You should get some Popov. Seriously, there's no booze cheaper than Popov. And _that_ , my friend, is what you should get."

Mike stares at Puck, still wobbling where he sits; he thinks about replying for, like, a second, about explaining to Puck just why, exactly, there will be no Popov. But he's pretty sure there's no point, so he just turns back to Matt. "Look," he says, as firmly as he can. "I will be right back, okay? Just... keep him up here, in my room, and don't let him make too much noise. And I will be right back."

"Don't do this, man," Matt says, pleading, as Mike turns for the door. "Don't leave me alone with him."

"'Sokay, man," Puck slurs, settling back down in Matt's lap. "He'll be back. He's, like, the best friend ever." And then, right as Mike's opening the door to leave, he actually starts shouting. "Mike! Mike Chang is the man! Mike Chang is the best! Friend! Ever!"

And then Puck starts laughing and laughing, even as Mike hears his parents climbing out of bed, and he groans. Then he steps into the hallway and closes the door behind him, readying himself to face his parents, and thinks that this is what happens when you get close enough to someone to start caring about their oral hygiene.

 

2\. Quinn

 

"Michael," his father says, quietly, and it's not like Mike didn't plan for this moment, because he did. Just. His brain kind of shorts out when his dad says his name like that, all quiet. "Why is there a pregnant girl sleeping on my couch?"

"It's not mine," is the first thing that comes out of Mike's mouth. His father folds his arms and raises his eyebrow. "It's _not_. I mean, _she's_ not -- She's just a friend of mine. From glee club."

"Glee club," his father repeats, sounding a little ominous. He leans back against the refrigerator, arms still tightly folded. "And why is she asleep on my couch?"

"Just..." Mike swallows hard, reaches out to grab a chair so he can lean on it a little bit. This would probably be working a lot better if he could remember what he'd planned on saying. "I mean, she... Her parents were... And then she was staying with the dad, you know, for a while, but that's not working so great and I just... She just seemed like she needed a break. For the night."

Something about his father seems to soften, just around his eyes and his mouth. "So she can't go home."

Mike shakes his head, biting his lip, thinking _please, please, please..._

"And the father," his dad continues. "He won't take responsibility for this?"

"It's..." Mike's shoulders slump; he sighs, and decides to just tell the truth. "It's Puck. From, um, glee club. And I think he's trying, but I also think he's not -- He wants to, but he's not really ready, so..."

Mike's dad blinks at him, then shakes his head, arms falling to his sides once again. "You know, Michael," he says, "when you told me that you wanted to join glee club so you could spend more time with your friends? This is not what I expected."

Mike swallows hard, because his dad is going to kick Quinn out and she'll have to sleep in a car or something, and Mike will have to stay with her because he can't just leave her alone, and then his dad will get mad at him for sleeping in a car with a pregnant girl he's not dating, and he really thought this was going to go better. He already bought Quinn a toothbrush and everything. "Dad," he says, and reaches out because he is desperate and he will beg. "Look. I know I should have asked you and I'm sorry but she just -- Dad, I can't just --"

His father holds up a hand, silencing him. "We'll put her in the guest room for tonight," he says. "If she needs to stay a little longer, you let us know in advance. No more surprises. Understood?"

"I --" Mike's mouth opens and closes a few times, and what's really confusing is that he thinks his dad is actually smiling, although he couldn't say just why. "Um. I mean. Yeah. Sure. Of course. I... I mean, I don't think that's going to be necessary, but. I'll. I'll let you know. If it is."

The smile on his father's face widens just a little bit, and he reaches out to pat Mike on the shoulder. Then he turns and leaves the kitchen without another word, and Mike just stares at the refrigerator and tries to figure out if his dad is proud of him, or disappointed in him, or just confused by him, or what. But there's no answer there, just Mike's last report card, and after a while, Mike heads back to the living room to see if Quinn's awake yet.

 

3\. Finn

 

"I just..." Finn sighs and stares at the ceiling, hands folded on his stomach. "I can't believe it's over."

"Maybe we could talk to Principal Figgins," Mike suggests, even though he knows it's stupid. Figgins doesn't care about anything but money, and as his dad's told him like a million times, no one ever made any money with a glee club. "Maybe we could... If we got, like Miss Pillsbury to back us up? Or maybe Coach Tanaka, he could --"

"Dude, Coach Tanaka had a nervous breakdown last week," Matt reminds him. "Anyway, he hates glee club now. Because Miss P. bailed on the wedding for Sectionals, remember?"

"But we've still got Miss P," Mike says, and he knows it's stupid, he knows -- But he can't give up. "If we, like, argued that music is important to our emotional well-being, and we'd all be wrecks without the glee club, and --"

"He'd just tell us to join band," Matt says, and for the first time in he can't remember how long, Mike's honestly really kind of furious with his best friend. And it's stupid, because it's not like Matt's being mean for no reason, but Mike's just not ready to hear this right now. "Or take lessons, or something. Face it, dude, we did what we could. It's over."

"No!" Finn sits up at the way Mike raises his voice, and Matt stares; even Mike's kind of surprised because he's not usually a really vehement kind of guy, but still. "This is bullshit. One stupid competition and it's all over? It's ridiculous. They can't -- There's a way. There's got to be a way. I'm not letting this be over, you guys. I'm just... I'm just not."

Matt stares at him. So does Finn.

Then Finn clears his throat. "Kurt's dad was pretty scary when Mr. Schue said Kurt couldn't audition for girl solos," he says, tentatively. "I bet he'd be even scarier if there wasn't going to be a glee club at all. And my mom thinks it's been good for me, so I'm sure she'd want to talk to Figgins about it, too. Um. There's Rachel's dads? They might do something."

And then he turns and stares at Matt in a way that might almost be threatening if it were anyone but Finn.

"Um." Matt looks at Finn, and then he looks at Mike, and then he looks back at Finn, and then he sighs. "Santana's mom said we sounded good, at the... uh, you know, with April and everything. And Santana's dad's a doctor, so maybe..."

"And I figure Quinn's mom pretty much has to do whatever she says now," Finn says, and he's actually starting to sound a little enthusiastic now that he's getting some feedback. "You know, 'cause she abandoned her, and everything. And, um, Puck's mom? He hasn't been suspended nearly as much this year as last year. Some of that's gotta be glee club, you know. Being, like, a good influence, and everything."

And Mike thinks about it for a second, thinks about how he can't mention his own parents because they won't help, and then he pushes any lingering doubts away, and focuses on the people who will. "Artie's parents," he says. "Because we got the ramp and everything, and the bus. And Brittany's mom says she thinks Brittany's a lot more confident now. So they'd probably help, if we asked. We just have to figure out what we need them to do."

He looks at Finn, because Finn is still their leader, and Finn takes a deep breath. "Well," he says. "I mean, obviously, just getting them in Figgins' office will help. Maybe, like, if they were all there, all at once --"

And that's where it starts.

There's more, of course -- they stay up most of the night working on it, and then when they wake up on Sunday, they work on it then, too. It's an awesome plan: there's letters to the editor, and a personal appeal to Rod Remington, and at one point (right before Mike shoves a toothbrush in Finn's hand and pushes him towards the bathroom), they're seriously discussing what Kurt's dad would look like in a welding mask while carrying a flamethrower (the answer is: badass). In the end, Mike is almost disappointed that Sue prevents them from using any of it by simply stepping in and saving the glee club herself.

Not too disappointed, though. Not when he's in the back row of the risers, and he's got Santana and Brittany on one side of him, and Mercedes and Kurt and Quinn on the other, and Matt in front of him.

Actually, he's not really disappointed at all.

 

 

4\. Matt

 

 

They're standing in front of Matt's house (which, actually, isn't Matt's house anymore), both of them furiously wiping at their eyes while Matt's family watches them from the windows of the family minivan, and Mike doesn't know what to do with himself in Lima if Matt's not there. There's this thing with Tina, this new thing, and of course there's the glee club and football and everything, but...

But it's Matt, and Matt was the first person to ever leave a toothbrush at Mike's house, and that means something, because it just does.

Finally, Matt reaches out and pulls Mike into a quick hug, then pushes him back just as abruptly and digs into his jeans pockets, pulling something out and shoving it in Mike's face. "Here," he says.

It's a toothbrush, bright red, with _Matt Rutherford_ printed neatly on the handle.

"My old one was getting a little gross, so I figured I needed a new one," Matt says, and Mike stares at the toothbrush, and doesn't take it. "You know, for when I come to visit you."

Mike just stares at the toothbrush a little longer, then pretty much tackles Matt in a hug. Because Matt was his first friend, and Matt is still his closest friend, and he doesn't know what to say or what to do but if he lets Matt drive away now without letting him _know_ , then he'll never forgive himself.

Matt just hugs him back. "Take care of yourself, man," he says, and lets go, and turns, and heads toward the van.

As he watches them drive away, Mike feels something in his back pocket, and realizes it's the toothbrush.

 

5\. Kurt

 

Kurt looks really young when he's sleeping.

Actually, honestly, Kurt looks really young all the time. It's just that, when he's awake and he's dressed up in nice clothes and has his chin raised high and his mouth set in that certain way, Mike kind of forgets how young Kurt really is. But right now, Kurt's curled up in a chair by his father's hospital bed, and he's sloppy and undone and his chin is sunk down deep into his chest and he just looks so young, and Mike just... He hurts, seeing Kurt like that. So when he reaches up and knocks on the doorway of Kurt's dad's hospital room (and Kurt's too young to be here, Mike's too young to be here), it's at least half out of self-preservation, because he just can't deal with Kurt being like this. So young. And Mike has to wake him up before he can freak out and run out of the room. Because this is important.

Kurt jolts a little bit, coming awake; he doesn't look back at the door, but keeps his head turned towards his father as he slowly unfolds, and Mike can almost hear Kurt running through some imaginary checklist, taking stock ( _eyes still closed, hands still limp, still not awake, still not alive_ ). "Sorry," Kurt says. "Is it that time already? Let me just --"

And then he turns, and sees Mike instead of whoever he was expecting (a nurse, probably, or a couple of aides there to shift his father's body in the bed -- they do that, don't they? Move people so they don't get sores or whatever), and his jaw drops and his eyes go wide.

He doesn't say anything.

"Um," Mike says, and takes a hesitant half-a-step into the room. "See, I called to check on you, but you didn't answer your phone, and then I called your house but no one was there, so I called Finn and he said that you'd stayed over at his house once but mostly you were at the hospital? And I wasn't sure, you know -- I mean, I know you keep floss and stuff in your locker, but I didn't know if you had anything here, and I just..." And then he kind of runs out of words, so he just holds up the bag he brought with him, with the brand-new toothbrush still in its packaging and the little travel-sized tube of toothpaste. "So these are for you."

"I..." Kurt just stares at him a little bit longer, his eyes going glassy with tears, and then he nods (to himself, apparently, since Mike didn't really ask any questions), and pushes up to his feet. "Thank you," he says, quietly, crossing over to take the bag from Mike's hand. "I mean, I do have an overnight bag in the car, but. You can never have too many toiletries, so. I'm sure these will come in handy."

"Good," Mike says. And then he really is out of words, standing there in front of Kurt who is currently in some weird halfway place between the person that Mike is used to seeing at school and this other, younger Kurt who misses his father so much that he'd rather sleep in a chair than let himself be taken care of by the people who love him. He just doesn't know what to do. "Um. So. I should probably let you do whatever it is you need to, to get ready for school, but. I'll see you... in Glee?"

Kurt sort of smiles at him. "Sure," he says. "Of course. See you then."

Mike turns away, takes one step through the door, then hesitates and pivots on his toes so he can look back at Kurt, one of his feet out in the hallway, and one still in Kurt's dad's room. "Um," he says, and Kurt blinks politely back at him. "Just... I mean, I'm sure you probably want to be with your dad as much as possible, and I totally get that, but... You know that if you ever wanted to, you could just come over, right? To my house. If you wanted to. You could just... come over."

"Okay," Kurt says, sounding maybe a little confused.

"Not that you have to, and I totally understand if you don't, but." Mike ducks his head, glances down at his shoes. "You know. If you did."

There's a pause, and then Kurt says, "Thank you, Mike," with such sincerity that Mike actually manages to meet his eyes again -- Kurt's still doing that glassy-eyed, half-teary thing, and Mike has to step back into the room and hug him then, because he just does. He's more than a little surprised, though, that Kurt actually hugs back, gripping tighter than Mike ever expected him to. But he goes with it, closes his eyes and holds on tight and tries to be something that Kurt needs, although he doesn't actually know what that would be.

"Thank you," Kurt mumbles again, when they pull away from each other -- he glances up at Mike's face, then down and to the side, his eyes red and a little embarrassed smile just hanging on around the corners of his mouth. "I'll... I'll keep it in mind." He looks up at Mike; he looks down again. "And if I... If I do, then I can bring my nice new toothbrush."

"Yeah," Mike says, and rests a hand on Kurt's shoulder for a little bit. "That's kind of... What it's for. But. So. Anyway. Hey, did you want me to get you a coffee or anything before I go? Because the little coffee place in the lobby was still getting set up when I came through, but I figure they should be ready to go by now, so..."

Kurt looks at Mike again, his jaw dropping, and then he digs around in his pocket until he fishes out his phone -- he unlocks it, looks at the time, and then stares at Mike for a little longer. "It's... Mike, it's not even six-thirty yet."

"Oh," Mike says. "So, should I give them a couple more minutes?"

"You came here," Kurt says, still staring at him. "At six-thirty in the morning. To bring me a toothbrush."

It's not a question, but Mike still kind of feels like he has to answer it. "Uh," he says. "Yes?"

And Kurt just keeps staring, until finally he seems to give up, shaking his head and sighing and muttering, "Tina is _lucky_ ," even as he digs his wallet out of his pocket and passes Mike a ten dollar bill. "Grande nonfat mocha, no whip," he says. "And Mike? I mean, if you're not in a big hurry, you could... stay, for a bit. If you wanted."

And Mike's not totally sure if he should feel like that's an honor, but the truth is, he totally does.

(Fifteen hours later, he finds himself staring at a text that says _They're kicking me out for the night and I'm just not sure I'm in the right frame of mind for Finn's cowboy wallaper._

He replies, _Bring your toothbrush_ , debates adding a smiley, decides not to.

It's probably the first time he considers the possibility that he's doing something with all these toothbrushes, even if he doesn't really know what it is.)

 

6\. Mr. Schue

 

The morning after they do "Singing in the Rain" with puddles on the stage and cold water soaking their costumes, Mike wakes up with a cough. He takes some zinc and echinacea, drinks some orange juice, and forgets about it.

Two days later, he wakes up from a series of increasingly weird and scary dreams (all of them involving Mr. Schuester chasing him around the school, running up the walls and sometimes on the ceiling and demanding to know why Mike hasn't given _him_ a toothbrush yet) sweating and aching in every single part of his body. His mom takes his temperature and tells him he's staying home for the day.

At some point, "the day" turns into "the rest of the week."

When Mike comes back to school, Mr. Schue is the first person he sees. He claps Mike on the shoulder as he passes and says "Glad to see you up and around again," and Mike almost throws up. He goes immediately to the nurse and when she tells him that his temperature's still a little on the high side and she'll call his mom, he's so relieved that he actually cries.

It takes about two weeks for him to be able to look Mr. Schue head-on again. No one seems to notice.

 

7\. Interlude: Tina's House

 

"Trust me, Michael," Meredith says, rummaging around in the linen closet. She could have sworn she had a package of spares here somewhere... "We're both going to be here all night, keeping an eye on them. Not that I think they'd do anything anyway. Mike's still looking at Tina like she'll break if he breathes on her too hard. Poor boy was more upset by that tackle than she was, honestly. It's sweet, though, don't you think? That he's so worried?"

Mr. Chang just sighs down the phone at her, and Meredith rolls her eyes. Honestly, she doesn't know why Mike's dad doesn't give him more credit. He should know the boy's a gentleman; after all, he's the one who raised him. "If you'll be there," he says, finally, and Meredith shifts a stack of towels and sees a plastic grocery bag behind them. _Success_. "But I don't want this to become a habit."

"Of course not," Meredith says, as sweetly as she can (she's good at sweet, when she needs to be). "Just for the night. And we'll bring him home in the morning, once he's calmed down."

Mike Chang Sr. grunts at that, and Meredith pulls the phone away from her ear to make a face at it, because honestly. "-- these kids, sometimes," Mr. Chang is saying when she picks it up again. "I don't understand why they..." He sighs again. "Right. Well. I'll let you take it from here, I suppose."

He'll _let_ her. God, what a stick in the mud. Or, rather, a stick up the -- "Have a good night," she says, so sweet that she's pretty sure she's giving herself cavities. "And don't worry about a thing. We'll take good care of him."

There's a grumble that might be "goodnight" but probably isn't, and then Mike Chang Sr. hangs up.

Meredith contemplates her phone for a few seconds, then sets it down on a bare shelf, takes a step back, and carefully and gravely gives her phone the finger.

Then she picks it and her bag of spare toothbrushes back up, closes the closet door, and heads back to the living room so she can watch Mike fuss over her daughter a little bit longer. The father might be a bit of an ass, but at least the son's still precious as anything. Even if he's fussing a little more than he needs to, it's still adorable.

 

8\. Brittany

 

Brittany has a ziploc bag full of different-colored toothbrushes, all of them neatly labeled with her name. It kind of makes Mike squirm a little inside, because there's just so many, and the labels look really nice, and he spent an hour trying to find one that was the right shade of purple and now she doesn't even need it. But he thinks maybe Brittany will appreciate the gesture anyway (Brittany always appreciates things that other people just don't), so he tells her to hang on for just a second while he goes and gets something from the bathroom.

She's still obediently clutching the ziploc bag when he gets back.

He doesn't love Brittany the way he loves Tina (will never love anyone the way he loves Tina), but he still loves Brittany so much some times that it's actually physically painful.

"I just..." He holds the toothbrush out, a little sheepishly. "I figured you should have one toothbrush that was just for here, you know? In case something happens to the other ones. So you'll always have a toothbrush. Here. With me."

Brittany doesn't move.

She hates the toothbrush.

Mike is an idiot. An idiot with terrible taste in toothbrushes.

"Mike?" she asks.

He clears his throat and tries to keep a brave face up. "Yeah, Britt?"

"Can I stop hanging on now?"

It's not quite what he was expecting her to ask, but he manages to say, "Yeah, sure."

Approximately 3.7 seconds later, the ziploc bag is on the floor and so is Mike, with a giggling Brittany on top of him, kissing his cheek and laughing, and when she rolls away, somehow the toothbrush is in her hand and not Mike's. Mike's not totally sure how it happened; he feels a little like he got run over by a train. A nice train, a train of cotton candy and rainbows and unicorns, but still a train. "Okay," he wheezes. "So I guess you like it."

Brittany beams down at him. "It's perfect," she says, and suddenly that makes everything else -- the weird looks from Santana, the argument with his dad about taking in yet another glee club guest, the other argument with his dad about homework, the other _other_ argument with his dad about sleeping arrangements (because he can't leave Britt alone in the guest room, not when she's already upset because of Artie and Santana and Lord Tubbington's overnight stay at the vet's) -- absolutely worth it. "I mean, it probably doesn't work as well as my other ones, because those ones came from Carl the sexy dentist and he knows more about teeth than you do, so it's probably not as good. But I still like it."

Then she leans down and kisses him on the cheek before clambering to her feet and hurrying out of the room. "Come on," she calls. "I'll hum the tooth brushing song for you, since you can't sing."

"Okay, Britt," Mike says, but he stays sprawled on the carpet for a little bit longer, just to catch his breath. At least she doesn't hate it, though.

 

9\. Artie

 

"I know it's different for me," he says, as he raises his mom's magnifying mirror a little higher at Artie's impatient gesture. "I _do_ , and that's the point. Because it shouldn't be, you know? Prom's not just about me and Tina, or Finn and Quinn, or whatever. It's about all of us, together. I mean, that's what's great about glee club, right? Because we're all in it together."

Artie starts to mumble something, realizes there's a toothbrush in his mouth and gives Mike this look, and Mike has to shuffle around trying to get the mixing bowl so he can hold it out for Artie to spit into, almost dropping the mirror in the process. Seriously, no wonder Artie's teeth turned blue from that gum, if it's always like this. "Okay, first off, even glee club is about Finn and Quinn and Rachel most of the time, unless it's about Puck and Quinn, or Puck and whoever, or sometimes Kurt," Artie says. "Second, I'm still a little hazy about how your after-prom party is supposed to make actual prom suck less for the single people. Third, the last time we had a New Directions party? It ended really, really badly."

He shoves the toothbrush back in his mouth, and Mike just barely manages to get the mirror back in place without spilling Artie's toothpaste spit all over the floor. Seriously, this is tough.

"Okay, so the last party didn't go so well," Mike says, because that's the easiest thing for him to answer. "But this is totally different, right? I mean, my mom's gonna be home, and even if she wasn't, we don't actually have a liquor cabinet for Puck to break into, so no one's going to be drinking --"

Artie shakes his head, leaning forward to spit again -- a dribble of it misses the bowl, and Mike almost reaches out to grab a towel to wipe it up, but realizes at the last second that he'd need a third hand, so he just lets it go. "So no one's going to want to come," Artie says, and goes back to brushing his teeth.

"What? No, dude, they'll totally come," Mike says, even though okay, he kind of hadn't thought of that, but still. "Like, when we had the victory party for the Brainiacs. People came to that."

"Samfafa kim do --" Artie groans, reaches out, and grabs the bowl from Mike's outstretched hand, leaving him with just the mirror to manage. "Santana came to that," Artie says, his voice a lot clearer without all the foam in the way. "To keep an eye on Brittany. And Sam came to keep an eye on Santana. And Kurt and Blaine came because... Actually, I'm not sure why Kurt and Blaine came."

Mike just shrugs. "Because Kurt missed us," he says. "And I think Blaine's just really into nerd stuff or something, since he and Britt talked about time travel all night."

Artie makes a kind of considering face at that, and then nods, accepting it.

"But the thing is," Mike continues, leaning forward; the mirror droops and he has to raise it again. "I mean, so that's you and Brittany and Sam. Mercedes will come if Kurt talks her into it, which he will. So that just leaves Rachel, right? All we really have to do is tell her that there's going to be karaoke, and she'll be there." Artie's eyes widen, and Mike adds, quickly, "Not that there's actually going to be karaoke, because there's not. But I'll tell her it broke down, or something."

He doesn't mention that he's planning on asking Sam to bring his guitar. What Artie doesn't know won't hurt him.

Artie spits again, and then sets the bowl and his toothbrush down on the edge of the sink. "So it's not really about everyone," he says. "It's about me and Brittany and Sam and Rachel. And also Kurt and Blaine."

Mike sighs, and passes a towel over to Artie so he can wipe away his toothpaste beard. "Look," he says. "I mean, yeah, I'd like everyone to come. I really would. But I know prom's going to suck for you guys most of all, and I just... I mean, at least this way you've got something to look forward to, right?"

"Another trainwreck extravaganza," Artie mutters, wheeling out of the way so Mike can get to the sink. "But fine. Even if no one else shows up to the great Mike Chang Slumber Party of 2011, which they won't, I'll be there. But I'm bringing my _Dr. Who_ with me, and we're damn well gonna watch it."

"Oh no," Mike mutters, rinsing Artie's toothbrush before putting it back in the cup. "Not _Dr. Who_. That's the worst punishment ever." Artie rolls his eyes -- Mike can just see the movement when he looks back at Artie in the mirror, and he grins. "Look, doubt me all you want man, but you'll be sorry if you're not there. We're going to have so much fun. You'll see."

(It turns out that it's not fun, not exactly. But the only person who doesn't show up is Finn, and the only person to leave early is Lauren, and when Mike comes back to the basement after brushing his teeth to see that Kurt has rolled a little out of his blanket nest to snuggle up next to Blaine, with his head on Blaine's shoulder and Blaine's arm draped loosely around his waist -- when he sees that Sam's forehead is pressed to Mercedes' elbow and Puck and Artie are side-by-side and Quinn is safely nestled between Brittany and Santana with one of Rachel's outstretched hands resting over her feet -- well, he can't say that it's a trainwreck, either. He smiles, and settles in next to Tina, and closes his eyes, and is very, very glad that he didn't listen to Artie.)

 

10\. Lauren

 

Lauren keeps her toothbrush at Tina's house. They have _True Blood_ marathons sometimes. Mike has a standing invitation to join them, but he doesn't go after the first one. Tina swears it'll never happen again, but.

Once bitten, twice shy.

 

11\. Mercedes

 

Mike's brushing his teeth, wondering if he should get another toothbrush cup or maybe find some other way of storing the brushes he's not using because seriously, there's kind of a ton of them now and come to think of it, maybe a few could use replacing... But he's brushing his teeth when he realizes that the excited chatter from his own room has finally hushed and that he can hear his dad talking in _his_ room, and he doesn't sound happy.

Then he hears his mom; she's laughing, so at least it can't be too bad. Still, he finds himself straining to hear her, just in case. " -- taking this too seriously?" his mother asks. Then her voice drops a little too low, only raising up again for the words "Girls night," and then "if I'd had a friend to do this for me when I was --"

Then it's his father, again. " -- three boys and you're calling it a --"

He doesn't hear his mother's reply to that, only her laughter, but he thinks maybe she's sounding a little strained.

" -- If he wants to get into a good school, he needs to start --" his father says, and "-- too many distractions --" his father says, and "-- needs to concentrate on himself and his studies and not all this --" his father says, and Mike realizes he doesn't want to hear any more so he cranks the faucet up until it drowns his father out and goes back to brushing his teeth.

His gums are sore by the time he gets back to his own room, where Mercedes and Kurt are already curled up together on the bed. Tina and Blaine are giggling quietly on the floor; they look up at Mike as he walks in.

He manages to smile.

 

12\. Interlude: Blaine's House

 

It only takes about five minutes of driving very, very slowly on the wrong side of the street while shouting through the open driver's side window --"No, I can't just go home, Blaine; you're heading away from your house and this isn't even my car" -- for Kurt to finally talk some sense into his ridiculous drunken boyfriend, but it feels like it takes a lot longer. Of course, driving slowly on the wrong side of the street on a back road with no posted speed limits is completely illegal and insanely dangerous. It's almost as dangerous, in fact, as _walking_ down a back road with no posted speed limits and no sidewalks in the middle of the night, especially when you're ten miles from your house and walking further away with every step Blaine you have no sense of direction what possibly made you think this was a good idea there could be muggers or ex-convicts or bears or --

But he doesn't say any of that, because he has no idea what would set Blaine off when he's like this, and he doesn't want to go back to driving slowly on the wrong side of the street and he knows that he'll have to if Blaine decides to start walking again, so he keeps his mouth shut. And Blaine doesn't say anything either; he just sits in the passenger seat staring sadly at his knees, and honestly, the drive back to Blaine's house is going to take forever like this and this was the worst idea anyone has ever had and Kurt frickin' hates Sebastian Smythe and his meerkat face and his dancing with other people's boyfriends and --

Then Blaine's phone chimes in his pocket, and Kurt hates Sebastian even more because now Blaine is scrambling to dig his phone out of his pocket and they should be at Blaine's house, in his bed, phones off, they should not --

Blaine looks up at Kurt, all shadowed eyes and pale cheeks in the dim lights of the car. "Mike wants to know if he can come over to my house," Blaine says, quietly.

That. Okay. Kurt wasn't expecting that. He's pretty sure Blaine wasn't, either. "Blaine," Kurt says, and glances significantly at the dashboard clock. "It's almost one in the morning. Why does Mike want to come over to your house at one in the morning?"

"I don't know," Blaine says, still looking at Kurt, like the question was rhetorical and he expects Kurt to somehow answer it for him. "I don't know, Kurt."

Kurt sighs. Because yes, he is irritated -- his boyfriend is drunk, and confused, and possibly suicidally stupid, and Kurt has about a million things to worry about and he doesn't need anything else to go wrong -- But he's worried, too. Because Mike doesn't do this. Puck does this (to Finn, of course, but since they live together now, he might as well be doing this to Kurt, too), and sometimes Rachel (to Kurt, but only when she and Finn weren't dating, and he tries not to think too hard about the fact that he was living with Finn then, too, because _no_ , Rachel), but Mike doesn't. "So ask him," Kurt says, working very hard to keep his voice level.

He watches Blaine's thumbs work over the keyboard as he types in his message, and he waits.

Finally, there's another chime, and Blaine opens the message, reads it out, his voice very quiet. "'Dad's still not talking,'" he says. "'To me or mom. Like you said, it's the quiet.'" He lifts his head and looks back at Kurt. "Because we were talking," Blaine adds, "me and some of the guys, the other day, because Puck said he thought you and I were already... Because my house is empty so often, and you do come over, but it's not... It's just..."

"It's the quiet," Kurt finishes, and takes a deep breath.

He's been to Mike's house often enough by now to know the way; it's maybe a quarter-mile detour from their current route. They could be there in five minutes, if nothing goes wrong.

Of course, everything is going wrong tonight, but still.

"Tell him we'll pick him up," Kurt says, and starts scanning the road for his turn-off. "Maybe six or seven minutes? That should give him enough time to pack -- you know, toothbrush, whatever."

"He's already got one," Blaine murmurs, absently, thumbing out another message. And it's so casual, the way he says it, so easy, that Kurt actually has to slow down for a second just to look at his boyfriend, frowning down at his phone. "When he offered to trade me dance lessons for help with his singing -- I wasn't sure how late we'd be and I wanted to be prepared in case he had to crash for the night. Anyway, I mean, he does it for everyone else, so..."

The thing is? No matter how frustrating Blaine can be sometimes, when he drinks or when he's nice to people he shouldn't be nice to or when he's just not thinking, he's still a really good person. And Kurt is proud to be with someone like that, someone who's just a really, really good person.

Blane glances up at him, eyes still shadowed, and lays the phone down in his lap. "Kurt," he says, and raises his hand like he's about to reach out, only to let it fall again. His eyes fall, too, staring down at his lap. "I'm really sorry. Just... I'm really, really sorry, Kurt."

And Kurt knows, but he doesn't want to say that, and he's not ready to tell Blaine that it's okay, not yet. So he just turns his eyes back to the road and reaches out blindly, his hand groping over the seat and onto Blaine's leg before finally finding Blaine's hand. He closes his fingers around it and squeezes, gently, and Blaine squeezes back.

"I love you," he says.

"I love you, too," Blaine whispers.

"Good," Kurt says, and smiles, and squeezes Blaine's hand one more time before he lets go -- there's a few turns coming up and he'll need both hands. "Let's go rescue Mike."

 

13\. Rory

 

"Okay, Situasian," Santana says, draping one hand over Mike's locker door -- there's a Walgreens bag dangling from her fingers, and whatever this is, it cannot be good. "Here's the deal. Me and President Britts have some celebrating to do, and Frosted Lucky Charms is seriously going to hamper our lady time. So what you need to do is work your sleepover magic and get him out of our hair for the night, 'kay? Look, I even got the toothbrush for you. It's green."

She wiggles the bag at him.

Mike is almost annoyed. Because that's not how this works, and even if it was, he and his dad are only barely speaking even after Mike gave in and sent off those applications and he really can't afford to start another fight by bringing home yet another friend from glee club and anyway, they can just go to Santana's, can't they? If Britt and Santana want to do... whatever they want to do, they don't _have_ do it at Brittany's house. Santana has a house, too. They can go there.

Except maybe they can't.

Because Santana's said her parents were surprisingly cool, but that doesn't necessarily mean they want Santana and her girlfriend together all night in their house. And even if they would, Mike can't blame Santana for not pushing. Not right now, not after the ad and the stares and the catcalls and just... Just everything, the way it's been these past few days. He can't blame her.

And he can't say no, not really. Because this isn't necessarily how he's used to being needed, but it doesn't change the fact that she still needs him.

"You owe me," he says, no heat in it, and takes the bag from her hand.

She beams at him. "I'll send you the video when we're done," she says. "Maybe you'll learn a little something-something."

And then she turns and walks away, skirt flipping up as she moves, head held high even when a crowd of lacrosse players at the end of the hall start catcalling her.

Mike sighs, and slumps against his locker, and wonders how he got himself into this mess. But then, he guesses that the toothbrush in his hands is answer enough.

 

14\. Sugar

 

Two days after the Troubletones join the New Directions, Sugar corners Mike in the hallway and hands him a pink toothbrush case covered in rhinestones. She tells him that she's looking forward to the "full New Directions experience" (he tells himself that the way she slurs the words together so it sounds like -- well, so it sounds like _something else_ \-- is just an accident, that she doesn't mean it the way it sounds). Then she slaps him on the butt and saunters off.

Mike immediately starts working on a list of people who will come protect him from Sugar.

There's Tina, of course, but she's kind of scary sometimes, and he's pretty sure that Sugar doesn't mean any harm, so he keeps her for last resort. But Brittany -- everyone likes Brittany, and she's over a lot anyway. And Sugar seems to have hit it off pretty well with Kurt, and he's usually up for a good sleepover. And if Kurt's sleeping over, Blaine's sleeping over. So really, that should be enough people to stop her from trying anything.

If she's going to try anything, which he's not sure about at all.

Just, after the Zizes situation, he feels it's better safe than sorry.

 

15\. Santana

 

Santana's toothbrush is bright, bright red.

She hardly ever uses it.

She comes over sometimes, when there's other people coming too -- for the Brainiacs party, or after prom. Once over the summer, when she and Brittany went out to dinner and wound up at his house instead (although they never explained how they got there). But she doesn't come alone. It's always about someone else, with Santana. It's never about her. Even when Finn and that pizza guy wind up outing her in front of God and Lima, Ohio, all he gets is Rory.

He starts to figure that's all he's ever going to get.

Then Karofsky tries to kill himself.

He doesn't know if they were ever really close, her and Karofsky. He thought maybe there was something like friendship there, for a while -- they seemed to be enjoying themselves during prom -- but it's hard to tell with Santana. He knows she loves Brittany and Quinn, and he thinks that deep down she really does like Kurt and maybe even Blaine. But Karofsky... He doesn't know how she feels about Karofsky.

All he knows is that she shows up at ten o'clock the night Karofsky's father finds him hanging from the ceiling. She doesn't tell him anything, just asks if she can borrow something to sleep in, and says he's allowed to share the bed with her as long as he puts on extra deodorant and keeps his boner out of her ass. And then they brush their teeth together and climb into bed together, and at some point she rolls over and curls up next to him with her head on his chest, both hands wrapped around one of his arms, and they stay that way until morning. She doesn't bother with breakfast, just brushes her teeth again (alone, this time), puts yesterday's clothes back on, and vanishes.

She doesn't say anything about it when he sees her at school, so he doesn't say anything either. It's like it never really happened at all, like it was a dream or something, and he'll never really know why she came at all, apart from it maybe had something to do with Karofsky.

But he knows that, whatever the reason, she came when she needed to, and left when she was ready.

He figures that's enough.

 

15\. Joe

 

Then there's Joe.

Joe is fascinated by everything. He thinks Mike's house is great. He's basically in love with the rehearsal space Mike's got set up in the basement (complete with rotating disco ball, in honor of the week's theme). He is enthralled by the videos Mike shows him and completely and gratifyingly, heartwarmingly thrilled when Mike offers to teach him a few moves. And when a few moves turns into _all_ the moves (okay, most of the moves -- Mike's a good teacher but he's not that good) and it gets really late and Mike says that Joe can crash if his parents say it's cool... Well. The look of surprise and pleasure on Joe's face speaks for itself.

But it's the toothbrushes that really blow his mind.

"So is this something that all of you do?" he asks, picking through the cup of toothbrushes, looking at all the different names. "You just have toothbrushes for each other, at your house, for... whatever?"

Mike leans back against the door of the bathroom, folds his arms, and thinks about it. "I think everyone's got a few," he says, after a little bit. "Like Rachel, Tina, Mercedes, and Kurt have always had toothbrushes at each other's houses. And Finn has Puck and Sam and Artie. And me. Actually, now that Kurt and Finn and Sam are all living in the same house, they probably have pretty much everyone. But most people only have a few. Just, you know, for close friends."

Joe turns, head cocked to the side, and looks at him for a while. "So, if these are just for close friends," he says, and holds up the cup, rattling the toothbrushes in it. "Would that mean that your close friends are... everyone?"

And the thing is, Mike doesn't even have to think about his answer. "Yeah," he says. "Pretty much."

"Oh." Then Joe sets the toothbrushes down and reaches out to clap Mike on the shoulder. "Rock on, man."

"Thanks," Mike says, and watches Joe lean down and carefully pull his own toothbrush (tie-dye; it took Mike ages to find it) out of the cup.

Joe looks at him in the mirror. "Um," he says. "Not to be weird or anything, but do you have to watch me actually brush my teeth? Or can we just... skip that part of the friendship ritual? 'Cause it's kind of making me uncomfortable, right now."

"Oh." Mike pushes himself away from the doorframe, suddenly feeling kind of insanely creepy. "Right. Sorry. I'll. Um. I'll go change."

"Cool," Joe says. "Thanks for the toothbrush, man."

But he waits until Mike is out of the room to turn the water on.

Mike can't really say he blames him.

 

16\. Sam

 

Sam comes back from the bathroom with a weird look on his face; he sinks down on the edge of Mike's bed, looks at him for a few seconds, and then says, "So. But you and Tina aren't going to break up or anything, right?"

Mike sits bolt upright in his sleeping bag. "What?" he asks. "No, no, of course we're not -- just... Why, did she say something? Because. I mean, if she told you something, I wouldn't want you to repeat it or anything but I just -- I mean she didn't, right? She didn't say anything. About breaking up with me."

"No!" Sam shakes his head, vehemently, raising both hands like he's surrendering to something. "No, no, God. No. I mean, not like she'd tell me anyway, just... No. No. Just... You know, after everything this week, with Kurt and Blaine... I don't know, I just..." Sam sighs and sinks back onto the bed, stretched across the foot of it with his legs still dangling off the end. "Like, I'm not lying, I was honestly kind of scared for a while. That they would, you know. Break up."

"Yeah," Mike says, leaning back on his hands, because okay, he kind of gets where Sam's coming from. Just... Everyone breaks up with everyone, at McKinley -- sometimes they get back together again, but still, there's a breakup there in the middle, and it sucks. And Kurt and Blaine just always sort of seemed like they'd be the exception, because they just... they just did. So watching them fight in song in the choir room, like they were just another couple... "No, I get what you mean. It was... It was weird. And wrong."

"And then I was brushing my teeth," Sam continues, "and thinking about it, and I don't know. It just hit me that the only thing worse than Kurt and Blaine breaking up would be you and Tina breaking up, you know? Because you guys have been together since I've known you, and you only really fought that one time and even then it wasn't the same, and just... So if _you_ broke up, that would be worse than Kurt and Blaine breaking up." Sam shudders at that. "It would be, like, my parents splitting up, or something."

Mike lets himself lay back, stares at the ceiling for a while. The thing is, he never even thinks about the possibility of breaking up with Tina anymore. Honestly, he never really did. Yeah, she's the first girl he ever really dated, his first time, his first love, his first... his first everything. But the thing is, he doesn't want a second or a third. He doesn't want anyone but Tina. He never has, and he doesn't think he ever will.

He wonders if Kurt and Blaine feel the same way. He's pretty sure they do.

Which, actually, is kind of scary.

"Thank God they got back together," he mutters, half to himself.

"No kidding," Sam says. "Seriously, I've like, never been this happy to be sexiled in my life." There's a pause, and then he adds, "Not that it's not cool that I can just come over whenever. Because that's very cool, and I'm really glad to be here. Just... you know. Sometimes I just kind of have plans and then they get blown out of the water by like, Finn and Rachel making weird noises, or whatever. But this I'm okay with. As long as they're back together."

"Yeah," Mike says, folding his arms behind his head. "No, totally. Agreed."

They stay like that for a little while, quiet, and Mike is just starting to wonder what Sam's thinking about when Sam opens his big ol' mouth and tells him. "Just so you know," he says. "If you and Tina break up, I will get you back together. By any means necessary. And everyone will help me. It'll be, like, total _Parent Trap_ business. We're not gonna let you split up, man."

Mike nods, biting his lip. "I appreciate that," he says, finally. "Um. But can we not talk about me and Tina splitting up anymore? It's kind of giving me a complex."

"Oh," Sam says. "Sorry. Um. I'll just... get the lights then, okay?"

"Thanks," Mike says, and closes his eyes, and listens to Sam climb off the bed and pad across the floor to the light switch. Sam nudges Mike's ankle with his toes as he walks past, and Mike wiggles his foot back in silent goodnight.

And he thinks that, just in case, maybe he should text Tina a little more often.

 

17\. Rachel

 

Four days after the disaster audition from hell, Rachel storms up to Mike in the hallway with a crumpled sheet of paper in her hands. Her eyes are red and her eye makeup is running all down her face, and Mike's not sure if he wants to wrap her in blankets or hide somewhere until she's gone. And before he has the chance to decide, Rachel's in front of him and Mike's back is to a drinking fountain and there's really nowhere for him to go.

"I'm claiming toothbrush privileges," Rachel says, her voice a little bit rougher and more shaky than it usually is when she's issuing demands. She shoves the paper into his face; he takes it from her, blinking. "Here is a list of conversational topics to avoid and movies that we absolutely cannot watch. I trust that you remember that I am a vegan and that therefore all ice cream products must be soy-based. Tofutti is my preferred brand. I suggest that if we listen to music, we avoid Adele. I should be at your house no later than seven, so it won't disturb your p- Your pa---"

And for some reason -- Mike couldn't even really say what the reason is -- that's the moment that Rachel breaks down and starts sobbing into her hands.

"You don't have to ask if you can hug me," Mike says, softly. "You can just do it, if you want to."

Rachel nods, and lets her hands fall away from her face, and Mike reaches out to pull her in.

 

18\. Goodbye

 

It doesn't hit him until he's unpacking his bathroom stuff, and he finds the plastic cup full of toothbrushes carefully wrapped up in a towel at the bottom of the box, and he pulls it out and unwraps it, and just looks at his toothbrushes for a long time. And he realizes then that he might never need them again.

Some of them he can hang on to, of course. Rachel and Finn; he'll need those, every time they have a stupid fight over something. And Tina and Blaine will be up visiting all the time (and then, in a year, hopefully _staying_ ). Quinn's in New Haven, so maybe they'll see her a few times. And Mercedes will probably visit at least once. But is Puck really going to come up from LA just to spend the night? What about Joe and Sugar; he barely even knows them. And Santana, and Brittany, and --

It won't be the same again. It'll never be the same.

And Mike just sinks to the floor of the bathroom with the cup still in his hands, and he bursts into tears.

Of course, since the apartment is small and the walls are thin, it only takes Kurt about thirty seconds to find him there. He slides in next to Mike, takes the cup from his hands, studies it thoughtfully. Mike just rests his head on Kurt's shoulder and keeps crying, and after a second, Kurt drapes an arm around Mike's shoulders.

"I know," Kurt says, softly. "I know."

Mike turns and presses his face into Kurt's collarbones, and Kurt reaches up to rub his back.

"Do you think it's too early to start planning for New Year's Eve in Times Square?" he asks. "Because if that won't lure them in, I don't know what will."

And Mike doesn't stop crying, but he feels his lips curve into a smile anyway.

 

19\. Hello

 

He doesn't replace Matt's toothbrush as often as he used to, but he still does sometimes, just because the old one always sits around for so long and Mike worries about germs and things. So the one he passes over to Matt now is brand-new; opened just this morning (and even then just so he could put Matt's name on it, which is more necessary than ever, now that he's got so many.)

Matt contemplates the toothbrush in his hand for a few minutes, before running it under the tap and squeezing some toothpaste onto it. "I can't believe," he says, finally, "that I made out with Lauren Zizes."

Mike nods and takes the toothpaste from him. "I can't believe Puck didn't kill you," he says, glancing over to the bathtub, where the man in question is curled up behind a half-drawn shower curtain, snoring softly. He wonders, briefly, what they're going to do if one of the girls has to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. But maybe he'll let Kurt handle that. Kurt's always been good with Puck. "Seriously, he's still, like, majorly hung up on her. Is she really that... You know? _That?_ "

"She's..." Matt shakes his head. "She's got skills, man. Not gonna lie. I actually felt kind of inadequate." He raises the toothbrush to his mouth, lowers it again. "Seriously, dude, this is crazy, though," he says. "I mean, just... Yeah, Boston was awesome, and I had a great time, but I missed _so much_. Like, Puck and Lauren. And just... just _everything_."

"Well," Mike says, because he wishes Matt hadn't missed any of it, too, but he doesn't want to make him feel guilty or weird or anything. "I guess you'll just have to visit more often. So you don't miss anything else."

Matt raises his eyebrow, spits into the sink, turns to look at Mike. "Better check with your roommate before you go making promises like that, bro," he says. "I mean, Kurt's a lot less uptight than he used to be, but still."

And Mike grins, and shakes his head, and thinks about Kurt mapping out the living room floor to determine exactly how much space he'd need to clear in case everyone decided to sleep there. He thinks about Kurt spending all of his Christmas money on groceries so everyone would have enough food; he thinks about Kurt chewing on his cuticles and fretting because Joe, of all people, hadn't RSVP'd on Facebook. He thinks about Kurt getting choked up when he raised a toast "to all of us" at midnight.

"Trust me, dude," he says. "It'll be fine."

And then he goes back to brushing his teeth.

 

20\. Epilogue (Cooper)

 

When Kurt finally gets back to the apartment, it looks like he's carrying all of winter with him -- snow covering his hat, his coat, stuck to his eyebrows and eyelashes and melting on his gloves. And it's not like Mike was _planning_ to turn into his mother, but he can't help himself, brushing off Kurt's shoulders and taking his hat and scarf and muttering "Honestly, you're crazy, I was so worried --" as Kurt stands there, looking vaguely sheepish but also suspiciously proud of himself. "Seriously, Kurt, where _were_ you?"

"I left you a note," Kurt points out, peeling off his gloves. "It's fine, Mike. The bodega's a block away, tops. I wasn't even gone long enough for Cooper to wake up." He pauses midway through unbuttoning his coat to try and peer around Mike's shoulder. "He didn't wake up. Did he?"

Mike reluctantly steps out of the way enough for Kurt to see the couch, Blaine's brother still curled up on it, head resting on Kurt's pillow and body covered by Kurt's duvet. "Out like a light," he says. "Which I guess, since he was stuck in the airport overnight... But really, Kurt. You _had_ to run out to the bodega, in that?" He gestures back at the closed doorway and the blizzard raging somewhere outside on New York's now silent streets. "We're not even out of lemongrass. I checked."

"It's not --" Kurt sighs, and digs a flimsy plastic bag out of his pocket, handing it over to Mike before he turns to hang up his coat. "Really, I thought you of all people would understand."

Mike frowns at Kurt's back, then looks down at the plastic bag in his hands.

It's a toothbrush.

Of course, it's a toothbrush.

"Oh my God," he says, quietly. "I am the worst influence ever."

"I mean, he'll be visiting us," Kurt adds, and his voice is a little softer now, too. "Don't you think? When Blaine and Tina graduate and we find an apartment big enough for the four of us, and I just thought... _You_ know."

And Mike nods, because he does know.

Still, though.

"You're crazy," he says, one last time. Then he drapes one arm around Kurt's shoulders and starts tugging him towards the kitchenette. "Come on. I'm making cocoa."

And Kurt lets himself be led into the kitchen, still looking way too pleased with himself, and Mike wishes he could say something to remind Kurt of just how stupid this is, but he can't. Because it's not stupid.

It's not stupid at all.


End file.
